Wishes Are Cheap
by stranger12
Summary: He wasn't what one might expect
**Grimm – Wishes Are Cheap**

He wasn't what one might expect

* * *

Nick knew he wasn't your regular kind of Grimm, the fact that he had killed his share of Wesen notwithstanding, of course. Regardless, he took some degree of pride in not being the monster in Wesen kids' dreams, just a friendly cop, for humans and Wesen alike (who wasn't afraid to step up and be the law, should his more brutal assistance be required).

One such way in which he tried to show he was different from, say, his aunt and mom, for starters, was to help out whenever, however he could, mostly with at risk teens. Lucky for him, he knew a few of them, some of which were not Wesen, but who had integrated well enough with those who were.

That was how Nick found himself with a handful of teenagers of all walks of life on his porch on a Saturday afternoon. Holly Clark was standing to the side, looking wary of the boys, in particular the sketchy Barry (recently released from Juvie through his father's connections). Roddy and Hanson were speaking quietly as Kevin and Gracie looked lost in their own little world.

"So!" - he exclaimed, clearing his throat - "Everyone ready for this weekend?" - he received all kinds of responses, none too warm, other than Holly, who smiled shyly and stepped closer to him.

Somehow, Frank Rabe had roped him into helping his son after he got out of Juvie, but Nick wasn't dumb, so he rounded up some of the kids he'd managed to meet during his cases and thus began the Nick Burkhardt monthly weekend getaway (or, as Barry dryly called it, the monthly Grimm supervised weekend from hell). Frank Rabe was more than happy to provide Nick with enough funds to cover all the kids' expenses, a little community service, as he put it, using his best lawyer grin, and since besides Barry only Holly had a parent looking after them, Nick supposed it was best to accept it and run with it.

Monroe, Hank, Wu, Rosalee and even Renard kind of laughed at him when he commented on the idea, but once they stopped laughing (thanks a lot, Hank and Wu) and calling him a 'cuddly soft softie', they helped by procuring camping gear so they didn't always have to stay at Nick's every month, sleeping bags, because mattresses would've been too much of a hassle to handle, hygiene products (Rosalee helped a lot with feminine products because, even with the guys' expertise after years living with women, her input was still more accurate), and so much food Nick just put up shells everywhere he could to fit it all.

Bud was informed of it, somehow (he suspected Rosalee), and kindly provided blankets, baked goods and even rides, if Nick was called away from the weekend. Monroe and Hank were always on-call as well, as even Bud admitted he probably wasn't the person you wanted looking after a Blutbad, a Reinigen and a Jägerbar, not alone, anyway. Hank, due to his cop status, was an easy pick, and Monroe could subdue anyone with a glint of his red eyes.

After the sixth month, Nick and the kids were getting along very well, and the kids themselves were the closest of friends. Holly's mom had told him as she dropped her off for the fifth time that she'd taken to inviting those 'sweet kids', Gracie, Hanson and Kevin to her house for dinner as many times a week as they could manage, even bending rougher Hanson into accepting the kindness for what it was. Roddy had the dubious honor of being more or less adopted by Frank Rabe, a great music admirer (it probably didn't hurt that Barry took to being very protective of Roddy after their second month and first time out in the woods for a camping night, when the Reinigen almost got hurt).

It had taken a while, but even Hanson warmed up to him, and the three street kids took to coming over whenever they could, and Nick would leave their sleeping bags on his porch, and the kids used them frequently (when it started to get colder, Nick gently gave Gracie a key to his house, and after a few awkward, wary days, he came down one morning to find them in the living room. He made them breakfast and soon enough, they were sleeping over almost every night, and Kevin turned out to be a very decent cook). Holly discovered this and quietly asked if she could come over some time. Nick discussed it with her mom, who smiled, as if relieved, and asked him to take her of her daughter. She was worried Holly was integrating well enough in society, and she thought Gracie, Hanson and Kevin were the best friends Holly could possibly have (that Nick was a responsible adult only helped her case). Holly was not a good cook, by far, but her bright smile whenever he put a hand on her head before he left for work was worth all her continuous burnt concoctions.

Somehow, Nick should've known that the moment he opened his house for more days than just the one weekend, Roddy and Barry would learn of it and come around. Frank Rabe gave Nick a wide, shit eating grin as he cut him a damn fat check, saying lightly something about how wonderful it was to see such an upstanding member of the Portland police force making the time to care for at risk children. The look the Grimm gave him only made him chuckle as he told Barry to behave.

Bud caught wind of the changed situation (as in, three kids staying over basically every night and some mornings, and the rest coming over as often as they liked, whether Nick was in the house or not), and his wife would come over to drop off her delicious baked goods. In the beginning, she was scared of the Wesen teens, but soon enough she was easily bossing them around with little to no trouble, even Barry (Nick thanked her profusely, as only Gracie and Hanson seemed keen on keeping his house clean without being told). Nick was grateful he was always active, both in his cop and Grimm roles, as he was pretty darn sure he would've gained weight eating all of her pies and cakes on such a regular basis.

Rosalee liked to come around and bring books for the kids, softly telling them how important knowledge, if not school, was. Only Barry and Roddy had had formal schooling, so Nick thought it was a great idea, and he had to smile at how kind the teens were to Holly in particular as she slowly started to come to terms with being a normal girl, and with Monroe's relentless cheering, she soon showed how intelligent she was, despite all her years away from people, out in the woods by herself.

Juliette, long gone in California on a new job, visited once and teased Nick about his Home for Teens of sorts. Hanson was instantly smitten by her, and after she commented how smart guys were the most attractive, he jumped at Rosalee every time she came, and started devouring books at an almost alarming rate. Even though Juliette rarely visited or Skyped, having her own new life in San Diego, the boy continued with his studies, much to his sister's amusement and glee. She, too, showed herself to be a good student, as did Kevin (though no one could beat Hanson's single minded enthusiasm).

Roddy liked to play the violin whenever possible, and Barry, grumpy as only he could be, preferred to work out and do things on his own, when they weren't helping their now very established close friends. Through his father's influence, though, Barry had some interest in music, and soon enough, Nick found the two out back all alone, the Jägerbar as if entranced by the Reiniger's playing. The Grimm had to admit it was very beautiful to hear.

One year passed in such a fashion. First slow and awkward, but eventually it was all the kids knew, and all Nick could imagine a happy life being. Gracie, Hanson and Kevin had plans to get their GEDs, 'just in case', as they put it, Holly was very advanced, considering how behind she'd been, and Barry and Roddy only a little bit shyly invited Nick (and Monroe, in the latter's case) to come to their school, as they had both gotten the highest grades in their class and would get some sort of recognition. Nick happily took the time and went, Frank with him for a smirking Barry, and Monroe with him, clapping like a maniac when a bashful Roddy was praised by his headmaster.

When he looked back on it, Nick had to wonder how his life would've been if he'd never started the once sarcastically called but now very earnestly dubbed 'Nick's House for the Lost and Found'. He'd been out of sorts when Juliette left, and the kids had helped at first, then they became routine, and finally a welcomed sight, whether in the mornings in his kitchen wrecking havoc or peace, or at night, bickering over which show to watch.

The Wesen he went toe to toe with in years to come were dismayed to discover he'd added a fierce, if quiet Blutbad, a sharp tongued and brute forced Jägerbar, and a musically inclined and loyal Reinigen youths to his Grimm Squad.

Not bad for Portland's resident 'cuddly soft softie' Grimm.


End file.
